St. Paul teen home and recovering after hit-and-run

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Three days after people found 13-year-old Brandon Smith unconscious in a busy street he still doesn't remember what happened to him.

"I woke up in the hospital. I didn't know where I was," Smith said.

One of the last things he does remember is calling his mom from his aunt's house asking if she was home because he forgot his house key. Smith said he then started to walk home, crossing a pedestrian bridge over I-94.

"I was just expecting to see him come through the door at any minute and it was the opposite, total opposite of that," Charlotte Igwe, Smith's mom, said.

Police believe the seventh grader was trying to cross University Avenue and North Grotto Street when a vehicle hit him and took off. He was just eight blocks away from home.

Smith lay in the street for up to ten minutes before anyone found him, according to authorities. Police found a side mirror at the scene, but have not found the vehicle or made an arrest.

"I don't feel angry I just feel sad because whoever did it they're not 'fessing up," Smith said.

Smith is recovering at home and won't be back in school until Monday. He gets headaches often, has a swollen lip and bruised body but his mom said it could have been a lot worse.

"I'm really grateful because today I could be burying my son," Igwe said.

Smith has never been afraid of busy streets but the run-in has changed him.

"I don't think I would ever want go cross University and Grotto again," he said.